Who were the builders?

Ireland's
first megalithic monuments were built by the first farmers, tribes of cattle
herders who made an epic journey from Brittany in France around
4,100 BC, to settle on the Cuil Irra peninsula in Sligo.

The oldest monument discovered so far in County Sligo is the remains of a causewayed enclosure at Magheraboy, just outside Sligo. This structure has been dated to about 4,100 BC using a piece of an oak plank that was found in site. Causewayed enclosures are a special type of neolithic structure, with segments of ditch running around the outside of the monument, interrupted by causeways. A timber pallisaded fence was built within the ditch, which indicates that this is not a defensive structure.

Magheraboy is only the second causewayed enclosure to be found in Ireland, and is currently the oldest dated example in the British Isles.

Timeline

There has been quite a discussion over the years about the dating of Irish megalithic monuments. During the 1940's and 1950's, many of the megalithic chambers were considered to date from the Bronze age.

In Carrowmore, during excavations by Dr. Burenhult and his team during the late 1980's and 1990's, pieces of charcoal were used to secure some extremely early dates, suggesting that the circles were built as far back as 5,400 BC. However, these dates were considered to be far too early by many archaeologists, being contemporary with the beginnings of megalithic construction on the continent.

Current research suggests that Carrowmore is indeed the oldest collection of megalithic monuments in Ireland. In 2013 Stefan Bergh and Robert Hensey re-dated the Carrowmore monuments using C14 dates taken from pieces of red deer antler which were included with the neolithic cremations. The secure range of dates demonstrates that the Carrowmore dolmens were in use from 3,800 to 3,000 BC.

The cairns at Carrowkeel are an inland extension of the Carrowmore complex and seem to date from about 3,500 BC. Interesting new research is taking place on the human remains from Carrowkeel, which were recently re-discovered in a British University.

Loughcrew has no dates from modern excavations, and it is guessed that the monuments are around the same age as the Carrowkeel cairns, dating from between 3,500 to 3,000 BC.

Construction

The earliest Irish megaliths are built with large blocks of stone raised above the ground on a circular platform. The platform was surrounded by a ring of stones, with a passageway connecting the circle to the chamber.

The circles at Carrowmore are built from local glacial erratic blocks of gneiss. In many cases the boulders were split in half to provide better building materials. There are few examples of limestone being used at Carrowmore, the best example being the massive capstone on the dolmen of Carrowmore 51, Listoghil. These simpler monuments have tiny chambers, just large enough to place the cremated human remains.

At Knocknarea and Carrowkeel, monuments somewhat later than the Carrowmore circles are constructed from slabs of limestone which were quarried close by. While the inner features of Queen Maeve's cairn remain hidden, Carrowkeel has some superb examples of limestone chamber construction. The cairns which cover these massive constructions are generally built from quarried limestone, with some glacial erratics included. At the central dolmen at Carrowmore and in in some of the Carrowkeel chambers, blocks of sandstone were used at construction points which carried most weight.

The Boyne
Valley builders took great care in the construction of their mounds. The chambers
and kerbs are some of the largest constructed in neolithic Europe.

When the passage and chamber of Newgrange were covered over, the builders carved
grooves on the upper surfaces of the stones to channel off water and keep
the interior dry. Several of the slabs used in roofing were engraved before
being set in place, most notably the marvellous ceiling of the right hand
recess at Newgrange. The chamber is corbelled,
which means that each layer of stones added by the roofing gang overlapped
the last by several inches. The corbels were tilted, like our slate roofs,
again to allow the water to run off, and they were packed with small stones
known as spalls.

The building of the actual cairn was the last part of the process. The chamber
of Newgrange was covered in a small cairn which reached to the capstone.
This would have greatly stabilised the structure. Then the cairn proper
was built - again a complex affair. Turves were stripped from the surrounding
area and the cairn material was carefully built up in alternate layers
of stone, rubble and organic material.

Why were they built?

The number three and the cross-shape were important symbols to the cairn builders.
The symbolic importance of the trinity can be traced back to the origins
of Irish megalithic culture at Carrowmore in Co. Sligo. The central chamber of Listoghil, which is oriented to the south east is at the centre of a trinity of sites which includes Knocknarea and Carns Hill. In addition there are three
arcs engraved on the roof-slab of Listoghil,
and a tri-engraving, discovered recently inside the chamber which greatly
resembles the Indian OM symbol. There are several early monuments in the
region with the classic cruciform chamber plan - Barnarashy
63, Knocknarea 1 and Carrowmore 27.

At Carrowkeel the triune of sites is more difficult to spot with the layout of the monuments,
but could be Kesh
Corran , Treanmacmurtagh
Cairn and either Cairn F or K.
However there are several monuments with cruciform chambers - Cairns C, E, F (double cruciform), G, K and M. Sheemor in Leitrim has three
cairns sitting on its flat summit, the central mound capped by a modern
Christian cross which is lit by floodlights at night. Loughcrew has three distinct peaks and many cruciform chambers. And at the Boyne Valley, the triple spiral as mentioned above is the key signature.

The use of the cross symbol needs to be examined in relation to Irish sites.
Not many academic researchers have ever taken this subject on and given
it the thorough investigation it deserves. The cruciform plan was in use
from the earliest building phases on the west coast of Ireland. I believe
the real purpose of these buildings can be understood by examining their
symbolic attributes. As shown above, the symbol of the cross is as old
as this type of monument, as is the repetition of the number three and
the alignment or orientation to the movement to a heavenly aspect. In
addition Cairn
G at Carrowkeel and Newgrange have stone covering slabs still in situ, though many other mounds must
have had them.

In a situation such as Newgrange, we are faced with a parallel set of symbols
as the resurrection scenes in the gospels. An initiate is placed within
a stone tomb for three days, which in this case correspond to the winter
solstice festival of rebirth and the supposed birth date of Jesus, The
interior of the tomb is laid out in the shape of a cross - as are modern
churches and cathedrals. On the third day the stone door is moved aside
and the initiate, newly reborn in the sun, emerges into the light. The
symbolism of the sunbeam within the chamber is very potent - penetrating
light illuminating the mind of the initiate. A further confirmation of
this practice is engraved on the Entrance stone at Newgrange and beautifully
illustrated in the Books of Kells and Durrow. The Chi Rho symbol which
represents the birth of Christ is engraved within the Triple Spiral, where
the top two loops meet at the centre.

Location

Megalithic monuments are found throughout Ireland. Reports written over the last
two hundred years show that probably as many have been destroyed as remain.
These monuments are found in most Irish counties, though many are in poor
states of repair and many have no obvious chamber. A large number have
totally disappeared because their stones were robbed for convenient building
materials. Ireland has several large sites where large numbers of cairns
are clustered together - Carrowmore, Carrowkeel, Loughcrew, the Boyne Valley, Lough Corrib and the Wicklow Mountains. There are also
many other individual sites spread out on mountain tops, the greater portion
across the northern half of the island.

In general chambered cairns are found in commanding locations which usually
have superb views of the surrounding horizon and are often positioned
in view of other cairns. However, several of the largest Irish sites are
located in lowland locations - Carrowmore; Heapstown; Ballymacgibbon and Echoy's Cairns at Cong and Ballinrobe; and the mega cairns in the Boyne Valley. Water often plays an important part in their location - the Boyne at Newgrange and the Uinshin at Heapstown, while Knocknarea is surrounded by sea on three sides. Alignments are often found with prominent mountains or hills, which are often the location of another site.

Mythology of the mounds

Ireland's ancient manuscripts record the names of several tribes who were said to
have invaded the island in the mythological past. In order of arrival,
the Formorians, the Parthalonians, the Nemedians, the Firbolg, the Túatha
Dé Danann and lastly the Celts or Milesians are the tribes said
to have settled here. Ireland was considered a magical homeland by the
tribes who came here. The best known group were the Túatha Dé Danann, The Tribe of
the Goddess Danu. They are said to have arrived from the North and West
in flying ships, bearing four great treasures - The Sword of Núada;
The Dagda's Cauldron; The Stone of Destiny; and The Spear of Lugh. They
landed at Lough Corrib in Co. Galway and on the mountain of Sliabh an
Iarann in Co. Leitrim.

The First Battle of Maigh Tuireadh, which
took place on the plain of Cong by the north shores of Lough Corrib, was
fought between the Firbolg and the Túatha Dé Danann.Two
large monuments, Ballymacgibbon Cairn and Eochy's Cairn, remain here and
several others are said to have been destroyed. Connaught's four stone
circles are to be found here, as well as several cashels, ringforts, caves,
standing stones, and a strange modern stepped pyramid and inscribed stone
known as The Gods of Neale.

The Second Battle of Moytura took place on the hill above the eastern shore of Lough Arrow,
near the Bricklieve Mountains. The Second Battle was fought between the
Túatha Dé Danann and the Formorans, and was a complex affair
which deserves a lengthy page of its own. Lugh of the Long Arm led the
Túatha Dé Dannan to victory over their opponents and oppressors,
and killed his grandfather Balor of the Evil Eye who was in charge of
the Formorian army.

The place where he put out Balor's Eye is today marked by the eerie lake of
Lough na Suil, The Lake of the Eye (see top picture). Balor's destructive
Eye burned a great hole in the ground and disappeared, and a lake was
formed on the spot. In a regular cycle, the length of which I am not sure,
the water vanishes for a few days leaving a crater with a large, deep
hole at the bottom.

Stone basin from Knowth. The Dagda's Cauldron? One of the four treasures brought
to Ireland by the Túatha Dé Danann.

In general they are associated with many ancient sites, and the Dagda in
particular was known as a builder of monuments. He resided at Newgrange for a long time until his son Aongus won the mound from him.
Circle number 7 at Carrowmore in County Sligo.

Megalithic art

One of the best known aspects of the passage cairns are their art, an un-interperetated
symbolic language that and ornamentation. These engravings are the earliest
writings in Ireland and among the oldest in Europe. They are documents
in stone written in a symbolic language which seems to incorporate the
light and motion of the heavens.

That these engravings deal with astronomical themes is demonstrated in several sites,
where the artwork is illuminated by the light of the sun or moon at a
chosen time in the cycle of the body in question. This is demonstrated
at Cairn G ,
Carrowkeel (no artwork), Cairns
L and T, Loughcrew and Boyne
Valley sites in these pages. Knowth alone has 50% of the engraved stones in Ireland. Early engravings have
been discovered in recent years on the chamber of Listohil monument at Carrowmore in Co Sligo. Heapstown Cairn, also in Sligo is known to have had several
engraved stones, with perhaps an ogham stone standing at the top of the
mound. Only one stone remains visible today, as many were robbed from
the site in the last century.

Carrowkeel pottery and stone basins

There are several types of artifacts which are associated with chambered cairns.
Of the few items that are found in these monuments which can be said to
date to the builders, the most common are fragments of ancient pottery.
On a few occasions complete pots were recovered, and since these were
first found in the Bricklieves,
these are known as Carrowkeel Ware. The example illustrated above is the Barnarashy Vessel
from near Carrowmore,
and is found on the old Irish 4p and 5p stamps. The vessels were made
from coarse, gritty clay sometimes mixed with broken shells and always
decorated with grooved and pitted designs which complement the engraved
artwork of the cairns.

This Carrowkeel Ware is associated with cremation and burial as great quantities of ashes are found buried under the passages, chambers and recesses of these monuments. In Celtic folklore and mythology cairns were sometimes raised over the
bodies of slain warriors, but never mention cremation, which is obviously
a very early form of burial. The cairns are called Passage Tombs because
so many cremated remains were excavated within them.

However given detailed study it is clear that these monuments were in
fact the oldest churches and cathedrals in Europe, and were probably used
much as modern temples are today. Rituals such as birth ceremonies; communions;
marriages; ordinations; prayer, meditation and contemplation; initiations
and finally death would have taken place within the chamber. The Carrowkeel
pots may have been funerary urns or prehistoric chalices. The Essenes
of Quamram had a ritual of passing the cup which was adopted by the early
Christian Church; it is quite likely that this was descended, as so many
other Christian symbols are, from prehistoric Ireland.

As the culture developed the cairns got bigger in size. At Carrowkeel stone trays were described in the recesses of Cairns G and K. Several stone basins were found at Loughcrew, including the large example in Cairn
L.
The Boyne Valley chambers all have large basins, one smashed in Dowth South, four in Newgrange and two at the main site of Knowth, the finest of them all being the beautiful engraved
basin in the Eastern chamber illustrated here. The whole massive cairn
was constructed around this basin, which may well be the Dagda's Cauldron, one of the four treasures brought to Ireland by the Túatha
Dé Danann. This spot was an important setting out position for
many of the monuments in the Boyne
Valley, as 10 minutes experimenting with a drawing compass and plan
of the monuments will prove.

Quartz and other finds

All the
monuments have shown traces of quartz, and many had names such as Find
Cairn and Cairn Bán, which mean White Cairn. Quartz is regarded
as a sacred stone by cultures all around the world and is a key component
of our modern technological society today. It was known as Grian Cloch,
meaning Sun Stone to the ancient Irish. The traditions which still survive
in Ireland today of dashing house fronts and covering graves with quartz
chippings go back a long, long way. As for my own use of quartz, the background
of all the pages on the Sacred Island website is made from a section of
the quartz facing from Newgrange.

Other items
recovered in chambered cairns are chalk and stone spheres, stone pendants
and bone or antler pins. There are examples of the spheres from several
sites on display in the National Museum, including two mysterious artifacts
found under the basin in Cairn L, Loughcrew. The chalk balls are smaller and were probably
used to teach positions of the sun and moon on the horizon when held out
at arms length during an astronomical ritual. I think this idea makes
sense as several chalk balls were found in the chamber of Cairn G at Carrowkeel, where the roofbox demonstrates great interest
in the movements of the moon along the horizon from major to minor standstill.
This concept can also introduce a unit of measurement as the sun and moon
both measure 0.5 degrees as they rise and set.

Pendants
are considered to have been hung around the neck, and Michael Herity's
Irish Passage Graves has a photograph of a model wearing a selection of
pendants from the Mound of the Hostages at Tara. Another suggestion is
that the pendants were used as pendulums for dowsing, much as they are
in modern healing. In a few cases larger pendants which look more like
ritual axe heads have been found. The outstanding example of a small carved
stone is the Knowth Macehead which was found buried beside the basin in the right recess of
the East chamber. This beautiful
artifact is made from extremely hard flint and is engraved with swirls
and spirals which rival the NewgrangeEntrance Stone in their excellence.

Carved antler
pins, sometimes with mushroom-shaped heads are found, with a particularly
fine engraved example coming from Fourknocks. These may have been used
as clothing fasteners, or as a drawing stylus for ground diagrams and Carrowkeel Ware decoration. Many
of the finds discussed here were found among the cremations and bear burn
marks from the fires.

The
massive henge near Dowth. This enormous circular monument has no defensive features and was a gathering place for huge crowds of people.